Sudan
11.10.02
Urgent Interventions
Sudan: release of 4 members of the Four tribe, several remain in detention
Case SDN 180602.3 / 180602.3.ESCR
Follow-up of Case SDN 180602
URGENT APPEAL / ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCERN
Release / Ill-treatment
Geneva, October 11th, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Sudan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, of the release and continuing detention of various members of the Four tribe in Sudan.
According to the information received, 6 members of the Four tribe from the Kabkabia region of Darfour, Western Sudan, are still being detained in Wad Madani prison. They were arrested following an attack by Arab tribes on Shoba village in May 2002. The names of the men that are still in detention are as follows: Abbas Abu Shouk; Khalil Mohamed Dean; Yousif Abu Shouk; Abdelrahman Adam Yahya; Abakar Suleiman; Hussein Abu Bakr.
According to the information received, another 4 Four tribesmen - Hamed Mohamed Hamed, Nureldin Mohamed Abdelrahim, Fadl Adam Shata, and Hassan Ahmed Abdel Shafie - who were arrested at the same time as the afore-mentioned detainees and are also from Shoba and Kabkabia, were released on August 31st, 2002. These 4 men had been detained for a total of 100 days after their arrest, which took place on May 21st, 2002. They spent 37 days in El Fasher prison, and were then transferred to Port Sudan prison for 16 days, after which they were moved to Madani prison where they were detained for the remaining 53 days. OMCT has previously expressed concern that these persons were at risk of being subjected to torture during their detention, but has learned that, while their detention conditions can be qualified as very poor, they were not subjected to physical torture.
Separately, a conference on the security situation in Darfour, that was organised by the Government and Four leaders, was held in Nyartiti between 16 and 22 August, 2002. It was recommended during the conference that all members of the Four currently being detained should be released, and the Government reportedly promised that it would do this. OMCT therefore calls upon the Sudanese authorities to honour its promise and to release those persons still being detained in relation with these events.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, the Sudanese Security Forces arrested the men from the Four tribe on 21 May 2002, following an attack on the village of Shoba in Darfour by armed Arab tribes from Chad and Darfour. 17 people were killed in the incident, over 600 houses were burnt, and around 1000 livestock killed and their bodies mutilated.
According to the information received, these human rights violations are linked to the worsening of the socio-economic situation in Darfour, and the ongoing conflict that is taking place in the province between the Four and Massaleet tribes and Arabs from Darfour and Chad. Confrontations between these two parties have led to the destruction and depopulation of villages, and the displacement of a great number of people, who now suffer from a shortage of food, security and shelter. As a result crime has reportedly increased, as the displaced are desperate to ensure theirs and their family’s survival. According to the report, drought has severely worsened the situation in the region, inciting conflict as tribes fight over the little viable land that remains. The whole of Darfour is reportedly affected and almost 1 million people currently risk starvation.
According to the information received, the Government of Sudan claims that the conflict in Darfour is simply the result of inter-tribal disputes centred around the competition for land between pastoralists and crop farmers in the area. The leaders of the Four tribe, however, insist that the depopulation of villages, displacement of people, and consequently the changes in land ownership are all part of a government strategy to alter the demography of the region. So far, 56 Four villages in the region have been depopulated following attacks by militia from Arab tribes.
Remarks
OMCT is pleased to learn of the release of the 4 Four tribesmen, and wishes to thank every individual, organisation and institution that intervened on their behalf.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the remaining detainees;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons and tribes;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses :
· His Excellency Lieutenant Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, People's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 24911 787676 / 783223.
· His Excellency Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 24911 779383.
· His Excellency Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 24911 788941
· His Excellency Dr Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 24911 770883
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, October 11th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up of Case SDN 180602
URGENT APPEAL / ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS CONCERN
Release / Ill-treatment
Geneva, October 11th, 2002
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information regarding the following situation in Sudan.
New information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Sudanese Organisation Against Torture (SOAT), a member of the OMCT network, of the release and continuing detention of various members of the Four tribe in Sudan.
According to the information received, 6 members of the Four tribe from the Kabkabia region of Darfour, Western Sudan, are still being detained in Wad Madani prison. They were arrested following an attack by Arab tribes on Shoba village in May 2002. The names of the men that are still in detention are as follows: Abbas Abu Shouk; Khalil Mohamed Dean; Yousif Abu Shouk; Abdelrahman Adam Yahya; Abakar Suleiman; Hussein Abu Bakr.
According to the information received, another 4 Four tribesmen - Hamed Mohamed Hamed, Nureldin Mohamed Abdelrahim, Fadl Adam Shata, and Hassan Ahmed Abdel Shafie - who were arrested at the same time as the afore-mentioned detainees and are also from Shoba and Kabkabia, were released on August 31st, 2002. These 4 men had been detained for a total of 100 days after their arrest, which took place on May 21st, 2002. They spent 37 days in El Fasher prison, and were then transferred to Port Sudan prison for 16 days, after which they were moved to Madani prison where they were detained for the remaining 53 days. OMCT has previously expressed concern that these persons were at risk of being subjected to torture during their detention, but has learned that, while their detention conditions can be qualified as very poor, they were not subjected to physical torture.
Separately, a conference on the security situation in Darfour, that was organised by the Government and Four leaders, was held in Nyartiti between 16 and 22 August, 2002. It was recommended during the conference that all members of the Four currently being detained should be released, and the Government reportedly promised that it would do this. OMCT therefore calls upon the Sudanese authorities to honour its promise and to release those persons still being detained in relation with these events.
Brief reminder of the situation
According to the information received, the Sudanese Security Forces arrested the men from the Four tribe on 21 May 2002, following an attack on the village of Shoba in Darfour by armed Arab tribes from Chad and Darfour. 17 people were killed in the incident, over 600 houses were burnt, and around 1000 livestock killed and their bodies mutilated.
According to the information received, these human rights violations are linked to the worsening of the socio-economic situation in Darfour, and the ongoing conflict that is taking place in the province between the Four and Massaleet tribes and Arabs from Darfour and Chad. Confrontations between these two parties have led to the destruction and depopulation of villages, and the displacement of a great number of people, who now suffer from a shortage of food, security and shelter. As a result crime has reportedly increased, as the displaced are desperate to ensure theirs and their family’s survival. According to the report, drought has severely worsened the situation in the region, inciting conflict as tribes fight over the little viable land that remains. The whole of Darfour is reportedly affected and almost 1 million people currently risk starvation.
According to the information received, the Government of Sudan claims that the conflict in Darfour is simply the result of inter-tribal disputes centred around the competition for land between pastoralists and crop farmers in the area. The leaders of the Four tribe, however, insist that the depopulation of villages, displacement of people, and consequently the changes in land ownership are all part of a government strategy to alter the demography of the region. So far, 56 Four villages in the region have been depopulated following attacks by militia from Arab tribes.
Remarks
OMCT is pleased to learn of the release of the 4 Four tribesmen, and wishes to thank every individual, organisation and institution that intervened on their behalf.
Action requested:
Please write to the authorities in Sudan urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the remaining detainees;
ii. order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
iii. guarantee an immediate investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions provided by law;
v. put an immediate end to the persecution and harassment of the above-mentioned persons and tribes;
vi. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses :
· His Excellency Lieutenant Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, People's Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 24911 787676 / 783223.
· His Excellency Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 24911 779383.
· His Excellency Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Justice, Khartoum, Sudan Fax: + 24911 788941
· His Excellency Dr Yasir Sid Ahmed, Advisory Council for Human Rights, PO Box 302, Khartoum, Sudan, Fax: + 24911 770883
· His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in Geneva, PO Box 335, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +4122 731 26 56, E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.
Please also write to the embassies of Sudan in your respective country.
Geneva, October 11th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.